Dakota - Contact for price

Dakota is a 2016 warmblood mare standing 16.1 hands. Dakota has been lightly started under saddle and has an absolute rockstar for the entire process. She is very straight forward and easy, and would be a suitable first greenie for an amateur with the guidance of a trainer.  She will pick you up at the mounting block or stand patiently to be mounted from the ground. She is super soft and rides in a rope halter off of a featherlight feel. Squeeze the right  rain and she will flex right, same to the left. She will move forward off the leg easily, exhale and sit back and she will whoa and stand patiently for  the next ask. Dakota has a lovely ground covering trot and would excel in the hunter ring. She is a sensitive girl who easily follows through a feel and does not need a lot of aid to know what to do. She can be nervous when first going new places or seeing new things, but looks to her human for reassurance and settles in very quickly. For her 5th ride under saddle, I hauled Dakota to a facility she had never been to before all by her self. It was her second time off the property since being a foal and her first time being off the property by herself. She was nervous upon her arrival but still very light and easy to handle. Within 30 minutes touring the place and standing tied she settled in and was ready for her ride, giving me the same disposition and willingness she gives me at home. She has a wonderful attitude and  wants nothing more than to snuggle up and get her ears rubbed. 

About a month into our training I noticed that when she was not fully mentally engaged with the work she would become stiff in the hind end. We had the vet out, and her opinion was that she had some very tight deep tissue muscle groups paired with weak superficial muscles in the hind end, resulting in compensatory movement. We took a step back from ridden work and did a lot of groudwork focusing on conditioning and proprioception. There was an immediate noticeable improvement in her way of moving, and she continues to improve daily. However she does have a good way to go in terms of building her body to be more capable of supporting herself properly. She still struggles to pick up her hind legs without tension, but is working through it and would thrive with daily handling and attention.